Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
An inside look at Italy's modern-day crime families, the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. Based on a book by Roberto Saviano. Power, money and blood: these are the "values" that the residents of the Province of Naples and Caserta have to face every day. They hardly ever have a choice and are forced to obey the rules of the Camorra. Only a lucky few can even think of leading a normal life.
Gomorrah is a raw, unflinching portrait of the Camorra told through five interwoven storylines, distinguished by its documentary-like realism and refusal of genre conventions. The plotting is dense and elliptical — more mosaic than narrative — which is bold but can disorient. Acting from a largely non-professional cast is extraordinarily naturalistic, lending the film immense credibility. Garrone's cinematography is gritty and immersive, using handheld work and real locations in the Scampia housing projects to devastating effect. Novelty is solid — the neo-realist crime film has precedents (La Terra Trema, City of God) so it doesn't score at the top, but its specific texture and moral bleakness are distinctive. The ending is deliberately anti-climactic and unglamorous, which is thematically coherent but deliberately unsatisfying by design, earning a middling score.